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the rest of the British travelling public.) Miss Dunn reluctantly
accepted this. She said she was embarrassed when the issue was
subsequently revived by the press, but it has acquired a certain life of its own.
9.
After the second incident immigration officers were reminded of standing instructions that BDTCS/BN (0) s who inadvertently join. the wrong queue are re-directed to the front of the "Others" queue.
ENDORSEMENT IN HONG KONG BDTC PASSPORTS
10. In March ExCo asked HMG to consider whether Hong Kong BDTC
passports should include an endorsement similar to that in BN (0)
passports, stating that no visa or entry certificate is required to visit the UK. We asked the Hong Kong Government to prepare a further statement of the requirements: this is awaited.
11. ExCo raised the matter again during a meeting with the
Secretary of State on 31 May. He undertook to pursue the matter
further with the Home Office.
BN (0) PASSPORTS
12.
A diplomatic campaign was pursued in 1986 and 1987 to explain the new BN (0) status to foreign governments. The exercise was essentially explanatory, although as a confidence building measure for Hong Kong consumption we tried tactfully to elicit public expressions of support from governments for the measures we were taking to enable Hong Kong British Dependent Territories citizens to continue to hold a British passport after 1997.
13.
These efforts were in the main successful. Most of the
countries which are the main destinations for travellers from
Hong Kong have offered their public support. Many countries (eg most eastern European and Arab countries) have not responded and indeed we did not expect them to. But no country has said it will
not accept the BN (O) passport for travel to and from its territory.
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